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Author Notes:I had my first financier at a Japanese restaurant I used to work at. As employees we usually got the stale or messed up version of these sweet and chewy almond cakes, but I loved them anyways.

This recipe is gluten free, substituting rice flour for pastry flour. I added lemon zest to the batter and filled the cakes with a tart blackberry jam. These are a sweet tasty treat perfect for tea parties or afternoon snacking. —stirfrei

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Makes 16 - 24 financiers (depending of size of the mold)

Lemon Financiers

1/3
cup rice flour

1/3
cup almond flour

3/4
cup confectioners sugar

3
egg whites

4
ounces butter, cut into cubes

1/2
teaspoon vanilla extract

Zest of one lemon

1. Preheat oven to 340. Sift together rice flour, almond flour, and confectioner's sugar. Place into a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Froth egg whites with a whisk and place in the center of the well.

Heat a small pan over high heat. Add butter and turn into beurre noisette. Allow the butter to melt and come to a boil. Constantly move the pan around until the milk solids have turned a golden brown color. Remove from heat and cool slightly before adding to the center of the well. Add vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk dough together to form a smooth paste.

Butter a rectangular or boat shaped tartlet mold (I used a round one, so whatever you have around the house is fine.) Place on a baking sheet. Fill tart molds about 3/4 of the way full, using a portion scoop or a tablespoon.

Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the paste has set. Remove from mold and let cool on a wire rack.

Once financiers have cooled, place jam (recipe to follow) in a piping bag using the smallest tip. Place tip into bottom of financier and pipe a small amount of jam into each cake, about 1/2 teaspoon. Garnish cakes with confectioner's sugar. Cakes are best eaten the day of.

Blackberry Jam

1
pint blackberries

Zest and juice of one lemon

3
thyme spirgs

1/4
cup honey

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until the blackberries have softened and the juice has thickened.

Remove thyme sprigs and place the jam in a food processor or blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Place in the refrigerator and cool until ready to use.